Philippine Fiesta’s sites through the years 1982-2015 Royal Exhibition Building : The Site of the Philippine Fiesta and Trade Expo 2015 By Manny G. Asuncion Photos courtesy of Mr Adrian Prophet

The World Heritage Royal Exhibition Building is the site of the Philippine Fiesta and the Australia-Philippine Business Council (APBC) Expo on 28-29 November this year.Completed in 1880, this historical building was the venue for Melbourne’s First International Exhibition of the same year and Melbourne Centennial Exhibition to celebrate a century of European settlement in Australia in 1888.In January 1901, the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia was held here and the opening of the first parliament of Australia occurred in May of the same year.Known as the “Great Hall” the Royal Exhibition Building is 152 metres long and covers an area of 7,000 square metres. It was listed to World Heritage on 1 July 2004. It was designed by Joseph Reed and built by David Mitchell for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880-1881.“With opulent interior, wider galleries and soaring dome,” of the Royal Exhibition Building, the Philippine Fiesta of Victoria chose this magnificent venue ready for more than 20,000 attendees for its 33rd year anniversary and the first ever Trade, Business and Investment Expo initiated by the Australian-Philippine Business Council (APBC) supported by the Philippine Consulate of Victoria.Apart from Filipino arts and cultural shows, a number of business traders and investors from Australia and the Philippines will participate in this exciting and colourful festival. This is also a great opportunity to expose Australian businesses to Filipino culture and encourage more non-Filipinos to be involved in the Fiesta.The Philippine Fiesta has been with the Filipino community for 32 years without a break. It started in the spring of November 1982 when a small group of enthusiastic Filipinos with a fervent desire to relive a vibrant festival away from home held a mini festival at the Carribean Gardens.Due to the success of the initial event, another Filipino Fiesta was held at Foostcray Park the following year. Thus the Fiesta became an annual event due to the participations of other Filipino community organizations. For four successive years the Fiesta was held at Footscray Park.In 1987, The Philippine Fiesta of Victoria Inc. was established and the Fiesta moved to Queens Park, Essendon, Victoria under the auspices of the Pampanga Club chaired by Nonong Torres in 1988. From 1989 to 1990, the Fiesta was held at Albert Lake Reserve. This was organized by the Sports Club of Melbourne. People flocked to Albert Park due to its central location and transport accessibility. It established the Fiesta as the much-awaited event. The 10th anniversary of the Fiesta was held at the same venue.In 1993, the Victorian Racing Club at Fleming became the next venue headed my Mrs Ligaya Chin with her message of: “We must continue to join together to promote cohesiveness and strength to achieve the goal we have been working for to preserve our Filipino heritage.”When the Philippine Fiesta of Victoria Inc purchased the Laverton Primary School in Laverton in 1994, the Fiesta was held at this place from 1994-2009. Because of the growing attendance at the Fiesta and lack of parking space, the current management committee decided to hold the Fiesta at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds (2010-2014).This year, the Fiesta will be held at the larger and easily accessible World Heritage Royal Exhibition Building which is close to the Melbourne Museum. It is expected that this Fiesta will attract more people, not only for the culture and fun that it offers, but for its exciting trade, business and investment opportunities.